History Extra podcast

The History Extra podcast brings you gripping stories from the past and fascinating historical conversations with the world's leading historical experts.


Produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine, History Extra is a free history podcast, with episodes released six times a week. Subscribe now for the real stories behind your favourite films, TV shows and period dramas, as well as compelling insights into lesser-known aspects of the past. 

 

We delve into global history stories spanning the ancient world right up to the modern day. You’ll hear deep dives into the lives of famous historical figures like Cleopatra, Anne Boleyn and Winston Churchill, and explorations of intriguing events from the past, such as the Salem witch trials, the battle of Waterloo and D-Day. 

 

Expect fresh takes on history, helping you get to grips with the latest research, as we explore everything from ancient Roman archaeology and Viking mythology to Renaissance royals and Tudor kings and queens. 

 

Our episodes touch on a wide range of historical eras – from the Normans and Saxons to the Stuarts, Victorians and the Regency period. We cover the most popular historical subjects, from the medieval world to the Second World War, but you’ll also hear conversations on lesser-known parts of our past, including black history and women’s history. 

 

Looking at the history behind today’s headlines, we consider the forces that have shaped today’s world, from the imposing empires that dominated continents, to the revolutions that brought them crashing down. We also examine the impact of conflict across the centuries, from the crusades of the Middle Ages and the battles of the ancient Egyptians to World War One, World War Two and the Cold War.  

 

Plus, we uncover the real history behind myths, legends and conspiracy theories, from the medieval murder mystery of the Princes in the Tower, to the assassination of JFK.  

 

Featuring interviews with notable historians including Mary Beard, Tracy Borman, James Holland and Dan Jones, we cover a range of social, political and military history, with the aim to start conversations about some of the most fascinating areas of the past. 

Unlock full access to HistoryExtra.com for 6 months for just 99p https://www.historyextra.com/join/

History
1051
Thomas Kendrick: MI6 spymaster who helped win WW2
Helen Fry discusses British intelligence officer Thomas Kendrick, who helped swing the Second World War in favour of the Allies
37 min
1052
Pearl Harbor episode 5: Chaos unleashed
In the final episode in our new series on the raid on Pearl Harbor, Ellie Cawthorne speaks to Robert Lyman about the attack’s immediate aftermath and long term legacy, charting the chaos the Japanese offensive unleashed and tracing events through to th...
37 min
1053
The Stuart princess who could have deposed Char...
Rhiannon Davies speaks to Nadine Akkerman about a beloved – but now widely forgotten – Stuart princess
35 min
1054
Fascism: everything you wanted to know
Richard Bosworth answers listener questions on the authoritarian ideology that emerged in Italy a century ago
37 min
1055
Yugoslavia: the beginning of the end
Dejan Djokic revisits the brief 1991 war that saw Slovenia secure independence and helped set in motion the collapse of Yugoslavia
65 min
1056
Christmas feasts: Victorian merrymaking
From creepy greetings cards to booze-soaked tipsy cakes, Annie Gray guides us through festive feasting in the Victorian era
26 min
1057
Triumph against the odds: the 1821 Greek Revolu...
Mark Mazower explains how the Greeks secured an unlikely victory against the Ottoman empire in their 1820s fight for freedom.
34 min
1058
Pearl Harbor episode 4: The day of the attack
In the latest episode in our new series on the raid on Pearl Harbor, Ellie Cawthorne and Gavin Mortimer chart how the attack unfolded on 7 December 1941, sharing the stories and eyewitness accounts of those involved, from Japanese pilots and US navy pe...
32 min
1059
England’s last witches
John Callow discusses the tragic case of the Bideford witches, the last women in England to be executed for the crime of witchcraft
49 min
1060
Hadrian’s Wall: everything you wanted to know
As we approach the 1900th anniversary of the building of Hadrian’s Wall, Rob Collins answers listener questions on the Roman fortification.
61 min
1061
Animals in space: from Laika to jellyfish & tor...
Stephen Walker tells Rhiannon Davies about the history of animals in space, from fruit flies and monkeys to Laika the Soviet space dog
46 min
1062
Christmas feasts: Georgian elegance
Annie Gray transports us back to the glamorous dinner parties, dangerous parlour games and decadent desserts of Georgian christmas.
23 min
1063
How US-Russian relations fractured in the 1990s
Mary Sarotte reveals how US and Russian leaders squandered the opportunity to forge a lasting partnership at the dawn of the 1990s.
36 min
1064
Pearl Harbor episode 2: America on the eve of war
In the latest episode in our new series on the raid on Pearl Harbor, Dayna Barnes speaks to Ellie Cawthorne about the United States in the years and months leading up to the attack. They discuss the American perspective on the disintegrating relationsh...
36 min
1065
Pearl Harbor episode 3: Countdown to the raid
In the latest episode in our new series on the raid on Pearl Harbor, Steve Twomey speaks to Ellie Cawthorne about the immediate run-up to the attack, revealing how inch-perfect Japanese planning and complacent oversights by American military figures co...
41 min
1066
Sex lives of medieval people
Katherine Harvey discusses whether attitudes to sex in the Middle Ages were really so different from our own.
24 min
1067
The Great Depression: everything you wanted to ...
David M Kennedy answers listener questions about the economic crash that devastated 1930s America.
50 min
1068
Searching for WW1’s fallen soldiers
Robert Sackville-West describes attempts to identify the bodies of the dead after the devastating battles of the First World War
41 min
1069
Christmas feasts: Medieval & Tudor revelry
From brawn to plum pottage, Annie Gray takes us back to the raucous world of festive feasting in the medieval and Tudor eras.
26 min
1070
Pearl Harbor episode 1: A gathering storm in Japan
In the first episode in our new series on the raid on Pearl Harbor, Chris Harding speaks to Ellie Cawthorne about Japan in the years running up to December 1941. They discuss the long-running historical factors that edged the country ever closer to war...
42 min
1071
Colour: a human history
James Fox speaks about the myriad meanings of colour through human history.
47 min
1072
Stranger danger? Xenophobia’s unexpected history
George Makari examines the history of xenophobia, and the surprising ways in which the term has evolved since the 19th century.
38 min
1073
The Irish famine: everything you wanted to know
Christine Kinealy answers listener questions on the devastating famine that struck Ireland in the mid-19th century
50 min
1074
How Shakespeare inspired terrorists
Islam Issa reveals how terrorists have twisted Shakespeare’s life and work to suit their own ends over the centuries
39 min
1075
How the Greeks changed the world
Roderick Beaton explores 4,000 years of Greek history, from the glories of Mycenae to the life of a modern European nation.
50 min